The Hospital Window

Step 1 感知·閱讀導航

話 題 導 入

本文為澳大利亞作家泰格特的短篇小說《窗》，場景和人物的設計都極為簡單。 在單調乏味的病房里，一個靠窗的病人給他不靠窗的病友講述著窗外的美景。 前者雖然身患重病，但依舊無比熱愛生活，覺得應該將窗外的生機與快樂和他的病友分享；而后者卻不肯滿足于此，他對靠窗病床的渴望與日俱增，最終在這種欲望的驅使下，他對掙扎求救的病友置之不理而導致其死亡，以卑鄙的手段得到了他夢寐以求的靠窗位置。 但生活和他開了一個無比公平的玩笑，當他探出頭迫不及待地享受窗外風景時，卻發現窗外只有白白的一面墻。

小說內涵豐富，意蘊深刻。 一扇小小的窗戶，揭示了只有純潔的心靈、高尚的品格才能用心描繪絢麗的風景，相反，自私和卑劣的人性只能換來黑暗與苦澀。

本文通過“窗”這個微型主題集中探討了人性的美丑和善惡。 全文568詞，建議用時10分鐘。

閱讀目標

1. 思考小說情節的主線（開端—發展—高潮—結尾）對推動故事情節所起的作用；

2. 通過對故事梗概的理解，概括歸納兩個病人的不同性格特點；

3. 結合文章有關情節，分析文章中“窗”的豐富內涵，并總結出文章的主題。

閱讀掃障

1. enliven /?n?la?vn/ v. 使更有生氣

2. picturesque /'p?kt???resk/ adj. 美麗的；古色古香的

3. ferment /f??ment/ v. （使）發酵

4. resentment /r??zentm?nt/ n. 憤恨；不滿

5. brood /bru?d/ v. 憂思

6. grope /ɡr??p/ v. 摸索；探尋

7. fuss /f?s/ n. 緊張不安；大驚小怪；過分激動

Two men， both seriously ill， occupied the same hospital room. One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs. His bed was next to the room's only window. The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back.

The men talked for hours on end. They spoke of their wives and families， their homes，their jobs， their involvement， and where they had been on vacation.

Every afternoon when the man in the bed by the window could sit up， he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the things he could see outside the window. The man in the other bed began to live for those one-hour periods where his world would be broadened andenlivenedby all the activity and color of the world outside.

The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake. Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Young lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every color and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance. As the man by the window described all this in exquisite detail， the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine thepicturesquescene.

One warm afternoon the man by the window described a parade passing by. Although the other man couldn't hear the band, he could see it in his mind's eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with descriptive words.

Unexpectedly， an alien thought entered his head： Why should he have all the pleasure of seeing everything while I never get to see anything? It didn't seem fair. As the thoughtfermentedthe man felt ashamed at first. But as the days passed and he missed seeing more sights，his envy eroded intoresentmentand soon turned him sour. He began tobroodand he found himself unable to sleep. He should be by that window—that thought now controlled his life.

Late one night as he lay staring at the ceiling， the man by the window began to cough.He was choking on the fluid in his lungs. The other man watched in the dimly lit room as the struggling man by the windowgropedfor the button to call for help. Listening from across the room he never moved， and never pushed his own button which would have brought the nurse running. In less than five minutes the coughing and choking stopped， along with the sound of breathing. Now there was only silence—deathly silence.

The following morning the nurse on a day shift arrived to bring water for their baths. When she found the lifeless body of the man by the window， she was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take it away—no works， nofuss.

As soon as it seemed appropriate， the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch， and after making sure he was comfortable， she left him alone.

Slowly， painfully， he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look. Finally， he would have the joy of seeing it all himself. He strained to slowly turn to look out of the window beside the bed.

It faced a blank wall.

Step 2 理解·文本解讀

目標呈現

1. Understand the structure.

What they saw outside the window

imagined

actual

2. Analyse the characters of the two patients.3. Try to work out two examples of dialectics from the text.

【點石成金】知微見著，小中見大，一扇小小的窗戶充溢著世態的炎涼、人情的冷暖。 結尾處“他看到的只是光禿禿的一堵墻”，戛然而止，出人意料，卻因其揭示了深刻的社會主題，而又在情理之中。 同時通過“窗外美景”凸顯純潔心靈、高尚人格和偉岸形象，而“一堵白墻”則批駁自私和卑劣的人性，虛實結合，動人心弦。

Step 3 運用·讀寫整合

主旨新探

1. Why did the author employ “The Hopital Window” as the title?

2. What did the author try to convey in the text?

類文鑒賞

1. What genre of literature can the text be categorized into?

2. Compared with The Hospital Window， what does this text try to convey?

Step 4 提升·素養建構

寫作技巧

It faced a blank wall. Why is the ending so special?

改寫·續寫

Imagine the man by the window passed away peacefully without struggling or asking for help. The other man therefore doesn't have to be pictured as jealous， sour and despicable. What is your version of the story? The modified story is as follows：

There were two men， both seriously ill， who shared the same hospital room. One man got a seat next to the room's only window. The man was also allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help him drain fluids from his lungs. The other man had to spend all his time lying flat on his back.

The two roommates quickly bonded and started talking for hours on end. They talked about their lives， their job， children and wives. One day the man on the other side of the window， expressed how he envied the man near the window. From that day the man near the window started describing all the things he could see outside the window.

The window overlooked a lovely park with a lake. Ducks played on the lake while children sailed their model boats. Young lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every color and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance. The man on the other bed began to live for each hour when he could hear and visualize the world outside the hospital room. The one hour of every day would broaden his world and got enlivened by all the activity and color of the world outside.

One fine afternoon the man by the window described a parade which was passing by. Although the other man could not hear the band， he could visualize it as the man by the window vividly described.

Days and weeks passed by.

One morning， a nurse arrived to examine the condition of the two patients. She found the lifeless body of the man by the window. The man had peacefully embraced his death on his sleep. The nurse sadly called the hospital attendants to take the body away.

The other man grieved the death of his roommate. But， as the day passed by he started missing the way his roommate described the view out of the window. As soon as it seemed appropriate， the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch.But as he propped himself up， slowly and painfully， on one elbow to take his first look at the real world outside， he was stunned by what he saw：

It faced a blank wall.

【點石成金】改寫和續寫是故事類文本閱讀課的有效拓展方式之一，是激活學生形象思維能力和邏輯思維能力，考查學生語言綜合運用能力的有效手段。 通過對情節的梳理、人物的分析、主旨的探究和語言的模仿，學生能在改寫中嘗試新視角，提升思維品質；在讀后續寫中加深對文章的理解。

Epilogue（尾聲）： There is tremendous happiness in making others happy， despite our own situations. Shared grief is half the sorrow， but happiness when shared， is doubled. “Today is a gift. That is why it is called The Present.”